Considering our conversations regarding feral swine in class, and that I've spent a bit of time around them, I thought I'd post a bit of information about them, and why I (despite trying to avoid killing of any animal) support eradicating the species from our state, and many more.
Diseases:
"Wild hogs are known carriers of at least 45 different parasites and diseases that pose a threat to livestock, pets, wildlife, and in some cases, human health." These animals act as disease reservoirs for dozens of bacterial, fungal, and parasitic complications.
Some of these diseases include: Trichinosis, Swine brucellosis, and pseudorabies.
Disease Sources
"In 1999, TWRA made an attempt to control the expansion of the wild hog population by opening a statewide wild hog season with no bag limit.
Unfortunately, it was during this period of unlimited hunting that the wild hog population expanded the most. Disjointed populations of hogs began to occur in areas of Tennessee where they had never existed before as the result of illegal stocking by individuals whose goal was to establish local hunting opportunities.
In 2011, new regulations were enacted that changed wild hog management. Wild hogs are no longer regarded as big game animals in Tennessee. In order to remove the incentive to relocate wild hogs, they are now considered a destructive species to be controlled by methods other than sport hunting."
Reason for not sport-hunting Hogs in TN
An Appeal to the Economics:
"The pigs can wipe out agricultural crops and wildlife habitat with amazing efficiency and are prolific reproducers, with a sow capable of bearing a litter of 12-15 piglets every 115 days. They do massive damage to the land through feeding and wallowing; they are also omnivorous, and will eat just about anything they can find. Studies have clearly shown that the hogs eat turkey eggs and poults, and even the occasional fawn or other unsuspecting mammal. Other ground-nesting birds, amphibians and reptiles can suffer population decreases, and the pigs serve as a reservoir for diseases that can affect both livestock and humans.
Wild hogs also root up acres of land, which requires significant time and money to repair. In the U.S., damage caused by wild hogs is conservatively estimated at $1.5 billion annually."
Economics and much more
Note the fecundity and gestation period of hogs. TWO hogs are statistically capable of turning into 100 if left to their own devices, within a year.
The Effect on the Ecosystem:
Feral swine are ecosystem engineers, which means they can change their environment by altering water quality and runoff in wetlands, shifting plant composition and distribution in grasslands, and decreasing tree diversity in forests. Feral swine have played a role in the decline of nearly 300 native plants and animals in the United States; over 250 of these species are threatened or endangered.
Source for the Impact of Hogs on Ecosystem
When hogs were first imported from Europe by early settlers the Native Americans were impacted as the animals destroyed their crops. Now hogs imported from Asia in Texas for hunting are fouling the water sources and causing a health hazard as well as destroying eco-systems and crops. It seems that hunters could be incentivized as they often are in other areas when wildlife populations become too large. Also, pork could be donated like deer meat is donated to food banks.
ReplyDeleteMatthew, this is really well put together and thought out. I definitely agree with your sentiment that invasive species like these are a danger to the natural ecosystems they invade. We most likely disagree on a lot of things but I highly respect the time and effort you took putting this together. I wonder what the future will be for trying to remove these species since in your report sport hunting failed, would it be better to have a no limit on them as well as no season? Or should we move to have a government organization take control of the situation to kill the hogs. I have personally been up against hogs, wild and tame, they're intimidating creatures!
ReplyDeleteWith the failure of sport hunting, there are a couple of methods that have proven successful in some locations. Government intervention is what I'm most familiar with. One of the Ranger IIs at Fall Creek Falls has been involved with other members of TDEC as well as ONE contracted hunter with heavy guidelines to cull the hogs in and around the park. In the 8-10 years he's worked on this, he's gone from observing dozens a month to the 4 (1 sow 3 piglets) we observed on a cam over summer. So there are methods, they're just laborious and costly.
DeleteAnother method used is licensure for property owners to kill hogs on their land. This is of course to prevent property damage, and is legal through the proper pipelines.
One of the largest problems I see with the govt intervention is the lack of want to fund the process. The Nashville TDEC office already has most parks running bear bones, and TWRA isn't much better off in many cases, so it's an uphill battle where we heavily rely on the few passionate enough to risk life and limb to cull the hog problem.
https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-news/keeping-destructive-wild-hogs-at-bay-in-tennessee/
ReplyDeleteArticle begins:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — They can cause millions of dollars in damage to land and property, but they can also carry dangerous diseases. That’s why the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency (TWRA) works year-round to keep wild hogs at bay.
“Wild hogs are an exotic invasive species, like kudzu, and left to their own devices will become a prolific pest,” said Joy Sweaney, who has worked with the TWRA for 15 years...